Weekly Thoughts

10/7/06 – What is the Anointing?

Hi all,

I've seen a lot of advertisements for meetings related to "the anointing" recently. One email told me that if I attended a certain conference I could increase my anointing. Another TV teacher said that if I became a partner with her ministry I'd receive part of her anointing and come under the influence of her ministry's anointing which would bless me in many ways.

What do we mean when we come from a meeting and say "that was anointed worship" or "that was anointed teaching" or maybe even "there was no anointing on that at all as far as I'm concerned." Can a person increase their anointing by going to a meeting? Can a person gain an increase in anointing by having someone lay hands on them and pray?

Today I'd like to share some thoughts about the topic of "the anointing". The first thing I have to do is define what is meant by "the anointing" in popular usage, then in the Word of God, and then discern where fact, fiction and common practice meet a genuine practical application in our lives.

First to the popular usage of the term "the anointing":

In my experience when I've made the statement that something was anointed I've meant that I could feel the tangible presence of God...either in a service, or in a teaching where there was revelation, or in a powerful worship experience...in each case I've meant that I could feel the presence of God when I've said, "Boy, that was anointed."

In the larger sense I was saying that a message spoke to me or that I got ministered to in a service as part of the revelation and presence of the Lord---but it was something I could feel in my spirit and often in the very atmosphere of the place it seemed.

Thus in my usage the manifest and felt presence of God and the anointing are the same.

I've also known times when I've been teaching and ministering where it seems the manifest and felt presence of God has been stronger at times, weaker at others, and not felt at all in a few other times I've ministered. There have been times where I would say to myself that something I said wasn't anointed, yet afterward someone would come forward to tell me how much that one thing ministered to them, leaving me puzzled.

Thus the "anointing" is something I've wanted to have and feel when I've ministered...I want the people to feel the presence of God, the anointing, so thick they can barely breathe or perhaps revelation just flooding their being when I minister...in some way I want them to experience God...that is an indication (to me) that God was present and therefore, the anointing was there.

I've had many people come up to me after I've taught and said it was just like sitting at the feet of Jesus. Others have said they saw a white glow around me, and many others have said they saw an angel behind me and to the side. Others said I was arrogant, talked over their heads, I made them angry, or that only a couple things I said made sense. Why is it some people can feel "the anointing" and others don't feel a thing and instead totally misunderstand?

Ministers wanting God's presence to be felt while they minister may seek to get a congregation stirred up emotionally during a service and/or ask rhetorical questions like: "Can you feel God in the house tonight?"

My observation and opinion is that in many streams of Christianity emotions, high drama and a slick presentation are now called the Anointing, substituted for the genuine because most pastors are so set on the morning's agenda that when God does show up he has to be shut down for the announcements or offering before He has a chance to do anything.

The means that over the years Pastors and whole congregations have lost the know-how or maybe never even had God truly show up and be allowed to flow as He wills in a service. Thus emotion and melodrama have been substituted for God's presence and we have whole streams of Christianity who mistakenly think that if they get worked up emotionally with great spiritual declarations they felt the presence and anointing of God.

I've told the story many times in various venues how the first church I ever pastored the Lord told me to shut down. I went to Him in prayer because I would teach but it seemed the anointing on the Word and what I taught just fell to the ground about 5 feet in front of me. Not only that, but the church wasn't anointed.

What do I mean by that? I mean God's presence stayed on that word but didn't go out to the people, and that there was no overall sense of God's presence and endorsement of that church.

The generic term that I use as "anointing" means "God's presence felt" to me. I should add here that Paul said in I Corinthians 2:13-15 that the things of the Spirit must be spiritually discerned...it has nothing to do with emotions, though they can follow the felt presence of God, but God is felt in a person's spirit man.

However somewhere along the line ministers started lifting the usage of it being God's manifest and felt presence and turned it into a commodity which they had authority to give to others. They removed the Person of God as the Anointing and turned it into a "thing" which could be given away, or even bought and sold, as in someone charging money for a prophecy or the laying on of hands, or a promise of increased anointing if you come to their meeting.

And that is what drives me to the Word, for I don't recall anything in Jesus' ministry or the rest of the New Testament where people sought 'the anointing' nor put their hands on people to increase their 'anointing', nor were people more anointed for supporting Paul's ministry or any other. I do see Romans 1:11 where Paul said he wanted to visit to impart some gift to them. But that sentence in the Greek means Paul is wanting to share his giftings with them, not the giving away of some spiritual gift to them.

The meaning of any of the several words for 'anointing' is used for an anointing of oil or ointment or rub of any kind, whether it be the anointing of the sick as in Mark 6:13, a dead body as in Jesus' body in Mark 16:1, or the anointing of priests in the Old Testament in Exodus 40:15 (twice)...it involves applying oil or ointment or a rub to a body.

In the Old and New Testaments the anointing oil is a type and picture of the Holy Spirit, the presence of God on a person for a purpose.

There is one specific word (a Verb) used for the anointing of things that are sacred or symbolic in nature. The word "anoint" and "anointing" in the Greek that pertains to things sacred and holy is the word "Chrio" (kree-o). This is where the title "Christ" comes from, which means "The Anointed One".

The word "anointed" as a verb means something set apart for God, consecrated to his use.

The Noun version of Chrio is Chrisma...not Charisma, but Chrisma, which signifies an anointing, meaning a preparation of oil and herbs and is only used once in the NT, metaphorically in I John 2:20, 27:

"But - you hold a sacred appointment, you have been given an unction - you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all know the Truth. But as for you, (the sacred appointment, the unction) the anointing which you received from Him, abides (permanently) in you; (so) then you have no need that any one should instruct you. But just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything, and is true, and is no falsehood, so you must abide - live, never to depart (rooted in Him, knit to Him) just as (His anointing ) has taught you to do." (Amplified Version)

You and I have been anointed, that is to say set apart for God's use, by the Holy Spirit, and that anointing, that presence of God stays in us and teaches us.

The anointing then is the Holy Spirit within us and the fact we are set aside for God's use.

(This passage is not saying to do away with the rest of scripture that talks of teaching and being taught of course, but John's letter is placing emphasis on the fact that every believer has the Holy Spirit within and that he is the First and Foremost teacher to us individually.)

This now is the part of these Weekly Thoughts where Charismatic fad doctrine gets shot to pieces and it may rub some the wrong way, but the truth is that the "anointing" refers to the indwelling Holy Spirit, the manifest and often felt presence of God in a person or with a person...

As such you can't buy and sell the Holy Spirit. You can't get more of him by giving to a particular ministry. I mean He is God...once you have him, how can you get more of him? You can't get more of him by going to a particular conference.

Can you be blessed? Of course. Can you receive more revelation? Of course. Can God open new chapters to your life and ministry? Of course.

Will God maybe even 'turn up the power' a bit more in your life at some point...yes, but there is a way that happens. Read on.

If the anointing is the indwelling Holy Spirit and you have all of Him, the search for more "anointing" then isn't about getting more of God but rather seeking to be a better conduit for him to flow through in a more powerful way.

And that is where people misunderstand...they think the sudden flowing in a new gift (new to them) is another anointing or a greater anointing, but it's not. It's just another aspect of God's personality in operation and people just aren't taught right to know what it is. It's easy to believe the hype that you suddenly have a new anointing for something and completely overlook what God says about the way it really works.

In I Corinthians 12:4-7 it lists 3 categories of gifts: Charismatic, ministry, and energy or motivational gifts...and concludes: "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given that all may profit. (a situation may be made better)" No matter how you are gifted or how God flows through you, Paul called it all a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

For instance let's look at the man named Philip...not the apostle, but the basic member of the congregation in Acts 6:1-5. Philip was one of 7 men chosen from the congregation of thousands to head up the cooking of food and feeding of the widows in Jerusalem...the 7 of them ran the soup kitchen...cooking, cleaning, menu planning and so forth.

Was he anointed for that job? Of course...the apostles laid hands on all 7 and they were anointed (set apart, equipped spiritually) for the job. Was the Holy Spirit in manifestation as they cooked and planned and cleaned and served? Yes, but in a different way than say, prophesying, but still a manifestation of the Spirit. When the 7 stepped into that ministry the anointing they already had just manifest in a different way..wisdom to meet the need, and in the case of Steven, with healing and other manifestations to heal those he cared for.

But Philip, having come from the thousands in the congregation to be named and prayed over as one of the 7, longed for more. He wanted to move into his call and higher purpose of an evangelist.

If he lived in the US or Europe he might have sought out a conference where it was advertised he could increase his anointing, or give to a ministry to get part of their anointing...

But fortunately Philip and the others had never heard of that heresy; they recognized God's anointing in them was the Holy Spirit, who would remain the same whether he was a member of the congregation, a waiter at the tables, or an evangelist, which he felt was his ultimate call. The Holy Spirit would manifest in different ways as an evangelist as opposed to a waiter, but it would still be a manifestation of the same Holy Spirit dwelling within him from the start.

We next see him in Acts 8 preaching in Samaria with signs following...lame people walking, demons cast out...Boy he was anointed! But wait...it was the same Holy Spirit in him there as in the waiting of tables! Some 26 years later, in Acts 21:8 he is called "Philip the evangelist"....wow...anointed as evangelist!

But wait...I John 2:27 said the anointing we have stays in us and teaches us...he had the same anointing as a waiter of tables as he did as an evangelist...The difference is the particular manifestation of the Holy Spirit in his life as he was faithful to each lesson and season of life God had for him.

The Holy Spirit was the same, but the way he was able to manifest himself through Philip changed and grew as the man grew in Christ.

And there we have it...that's just one example...I could go on about Paul, Barnabus, Timothy, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquilla, and so forth...the same Holy Spirit, but able to manifest Himself in different ways based on their growth and maturity in Christ over the years.

Can you grow in the presence of God in a particular way? Say if you hung around a healing minister could you learn to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as he manifest Himself in healing? Sure...does that mean you are now anointed in healing...No, but it may mean you know how to cooperate with God to flow in healing. And that means you're a little more well rounded in how to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in that area.

What if you hung around or attended a conference on prophecy? Could you hand around enough to learn how to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the way he moves in prophecy? Yes...does that mean you suddenly have an "anointing" now for prophecy? No...it just means you're a little more well balanced and can cooperate with God a little better, which allows Him to flow through you in more ways.

Remember that the labels put on the manifestation of the Spirit in the Bible are there so we can better understand the way God does things, and that is all. Gifts of healings, miracles, prophecy, serving others, hospitality...they are all manifestations of the Spirit according to I Corinthians 12:7; the labels just help us understand...but we can't look at the labels, but rather the fact it is all the Holy Spirit.

Certainly we all have a couple manifestations of the Spirit that we move in...from healing to hospitality to wisdom of working with your hands (as in the workmen and women building Moses' tabernacle)...and those are things we are most familiar with that vary by person.

My wife moves in tongues and interpretation and is prophetic. I teach and other things. Others are gifted in hosting people and still others are gifted in financial and other giving...it's all the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself through us.  

But the anointing is the Holy Spirit in you...he stays in you...you can't get more of him, but you can grow in Christ to let Him flow through you in greater and more powerful ways...and thus from earth's perspective it may look like you have an increased anointing, but the truth is that it's the same Holy Spirit...but you have grown to allow him to flow through you in ways that are new to you.

The person just walking in the things of God 2 years and me who has been in the ministry or ministering to people for 31 years is that my maturity in Christ and in my character means I have experience and can be trusted by God with some things they can't yet...but we each have the same Holy Spirit in us...

It's not a matter of getting a new and better anointing, it's gaining character and maturity thus gaining more experience in different facets of God's personality, thus opening yourself up to those elements and various ways he shows Himself.

The idea of going to a conference and getting an anointing is actually an Old Testament idea that well meaning people have tried to apply to these New Testament times we live in.

The New Testament is about the Holy Spirit within...it's not a matter (any more) of Something or Someone coming upon you from the outside and affecting you internally...this is the New Testament where it's a matter of the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you - the anointing is already within and it's up to us to grow to the point he can flow out of us.

It's like the Old Testament idea of carrying on someone's mantle in ministry...Elijah passing his cloak to Elisha...that is not a New Testament doctrine...in our time we have God Himself on the inside able to manifest Himself however He wills...not some outer cloak that comes on us that can be passed from one person to another.

That OT thought is error in these NT times, and is why people today have taken the "anointing" and thought of it as inanimate and able to be passed from one to another...wrong! The Anointing is Alive...it is the Holy Spirit within!

When Benny Hinn hung around Kathryn Kuhlman and learned how she flowed with the healing manifestation of the Holy Spirit HE (Benny) was the one who learned how to flow with God, he didn't receive her "mantle" to carry on the ministry...he just learned how to flow with that particular manifestation of the Spirit.

Like Luke 5:18 says: "The presence of the Lord was there to heal the sick." If you hang around that particular manifestation of the Holy Spirit long enough you can learn to flow with that direction and flow of God...it doesn't mean you are now anointed with something new from heaven, but from your earthly perspective it is new, though in truth you've just learned and become experienced with another aspect of the ways God does things.

The miracle mentality in many Christians is revealed by the idea that if they go to a particular meeting and have such and such pray for them then they will receive a new anointing or greater anointing (usually) meaning that these people have some problem they want to get rid of all at once...or they can come back and have some sort of spiritual power to endure what they are going through or overcome whatever they are going through. Or perhaps they think this will jump start their ministry in a new direction.

The truth is you have all the anointing, the Holy Spirit you need. The answer is usually to apply the Word of God, some backbone, integrity, and perseverance, and walk your way with God through your own valley of the shadow of death, and His anointing that you already have is more than powerful enough to see you safely through!

When I see these advertisements and offers for people to come and receive a greater anointing I am saddened by how little the body of Christ actually knows what the Word of God says. I wonder how "big name" ministries think they can peddle "the anointing", which is again the manifest and felt presence of the Holy Spirit, like He was some sort of cure all bottle of doctor's brew sold from the back of a horse drawn medicine man show. It saddens me so much that people seek the spectacular rather than just concentrating on growing up in Christ. The process of discipleship is supernatural.

Growing in the things of God isn't easy. It takes determination and perseverance. But the reward is that you can be entrusted by God for the anointing, the Holy Spirit, to flow through you in ways you've never imagined. The anointing is ever present within and it's up to God to decide how He will manifest Himself.

I was in Mexico ministering and 2 ladies came from a village an hour away. There was a deaf and dumb (speechless but otherwise intelligent) girl aged 7 who had never heard or spoken...would I come and pray for her?

Frankly it scared me. I had seen and been a part of the Lord healing "minor" things, and even the healing of a blind man who had his eyes chemically burned, but a girl born deaf and dumb? What if nothing happened?

I asked for a moment to pray and stepped to another room and asked the Father...actually I told him I didn't want to go unless he healed her, and then I asked if I went would he do it. Immediately the Father spoke to me, "Yes, I will heal her. Look in the Gospels to see how the deaf and dumb were healed or delivered."

So I told the ladies I would come. That evening I poured over the few passages that included the healing or deliverance of a deaf or speechless person.

The next morning a total of 11 of us drove to her village and entered the family's modest home. There, assembled in a semi-circle before us with little Fedra sitting on a chair in the middle, was the whole extended family, about a dozen people. We fanned out similarly, 11 gringos staring at the dozen or so family members.

Finally I stepped forward and made awkward efforts trying to talk to Fedra a bit, who just sat there staring at us and not focused on me at all. I had an interpreter explain to the family that I would put my hands over her ears and finger tips into her ears (Like Jesus did but I wasn't about to spit on them unless the Father told me to, and he didn't) and command and pray in the name of Jesus.

I did not feel the presence of the Lord, or the 'anointing' which bothered my thinking, but I reasoned that I had the Lord within and the Father's Word on the matter, so it didn't matter if I felt anything or not. Not having any discernment as to whether she needed healing or deliverance and following the basic idea of "when in doubt cast it out", I both commanded a deaf and dumb spirit to leave and commanded her to be healed in the name of Jesus. I just wanted to cover all the bases!

I stepped back and there was a deafening silence in the house. All eyes were on the 7 year old, who was looking around at everyone. I started in an awkward mix of Spanish and English to offer reasons it may take a while, or may not have worked...but fortunately before I could embarrass myself the nurse we had with us told me she could now hear. She performed some basic tests and it was soon clear to all that Fedra could indeed hear.

She made basic efforts at speech, though it was very garbled and unintelligible, but the Mexican side of the room burst into tears and clapping...Fedra came to me and I picked her up in my arms and stepped outside where immediately she looked straight up...a bird was in the tree above us singing loudly and she giggled and laughed in delight.

With that the children of the village who had kept their distance before, suddenly rushed us and called her name as I set her down...they immediately formed a circle and one child behind her called "Fedra" and she whipped around and pointed right at him, then another child on the other side of the circle did the same and again she wheeled around to point right at her, and suddenly about 15 kids were all shouting and jumping and patting her and hugging her...just then she spied one of our vans and pushed her way through the kids to the van...pounding on the door with her open hand and making basic sounds...she wanted in the van!

Someone from our group went over and opened the door and she immediately scrambled to the driver's seat and started pounding on the horn, which caused her to jump in her seat at the sound with wide eyes and confused but excited squeals.

We surmised that she had seen vehicles come into the village and the drivers pounding on the horn, but she had never known what the purpose for that behavior was!

My point in sharing this is that I did not think I suddenly had an anointing for the deaf and dumb population of the earth...I have the anointing, I have the Holy Spirit within. He will manifest as He wills in whatever situation I find myself. I gained experience and learned how to flow with that particular manifestation of the Spirit, so will be ready the next time, but I don't have some new portion of God which now equips me to enter into the "deaf and dumb" ministry.

It is not within my authority to hold a conference and tell attendees that if they come I will lay hands on them and give them the anointing for healing the deaf and dumb.

Is there laying on of hands for ministry? Absolutely...I can and do lay hands on people and ask the Father to allow people to flow in the ways the Holy Spirit moves in me most often, like the discerning of spirits for instance...but it is God who decides to manifest in that way. He isn't giving something new from heaven, as if a person only had a part of the Holy Spirit given to them when they came to the Lord and God withholds part of Himself...No!...Colossians 2:9-10 says:

"For in him dwell all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and YOU ARE COMPLETE IN HIM."

A friend of mine drove by an accident that killed a little girl on her bicycle in Tulsa...he said he suddenly felt an anointing, an urge to go lay hands on her and raise her from the dead. He stopped, got out and pushed through the crowd, put his hand on her forehead and commanded her to live in the name of Jesus, and she promptly breathed, her color returned, and upon examination at the hospital, was released with no injury whatsoever. My friend got back to his car and cried...it had happened so fast he didn't have time to argue with God.

Is he now anointed to raise the dead? In a way yes, because the Holy Spirit lives in him, but the truth is that he has experience and a measure of confidence on that subject, and if the need arrives again he will be ready if the anointing within wants to raise someone else from the dead.

So...I encourage you to grow in Christ, developing the character and maturity that will enable the anointing you have manifest in whatever way God wants...The anointing abides in you and will teach you!

 

Some thoughts this morning...

Blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org